


Tides

by mkhhhx



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Background Relationships, Biting, Caretaking, Fluff, Jeno's Oral Fixation, M/M, Mating Bond, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega/Omega, Pheromones, Rimming, Sex Toys, Smut, some sub-genders talk, they are also in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:07:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28714755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mkhhhx/pseuds/mkhhhx
Summary: "We are independent omegas who need no alphas," Jeno says patting the dildo's head, as if he knows how much of a good work it'll be doing the following week."Damn right," Jaemin agrees. He has less than two days to prepare for spending a heat taking care of his mate all by himself. Everything needs to be perfect.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Comments: 12
Kudos: 212





	Tides

**Author's Note:**

> I kept fixing mistakes until the very last moment and I apologise in advance cause there are surely some more :')
> 
> This has been in my wips for quite some time and I'm happy to finally release it to the world :D. Hope you enjoy!

Their new best friend gets delivered to their doorstep on a wonderful Friday afternoon. Jaemin is the one to open the door to fetch and take the box inside, having a couple of hours to spare before his mate is back home. He resists opening everything up knowing how much Jeno loves unpacking things but takes the spray they ordered out of its little, plainly labelled box. A product that falls in the grey territory between medicinal applications and sex aids and has costed almost one fourth of their shared rent.

"Jisungie," he calls their roommate that's happily and obliviously working on something tapping away on his laptop in the living room. "Smell this."

Jisung sprawls himself out on the couch to look back at Jaemin who's uncapping the bottle. He's all long limbs and although he should have stopped getting taller maybe one or two years ago, he keeps going, his whole lankiness underlined by his hair growing out too.

"What's this?" Jisung scrunches his nose when Jaemin is close enough and the scent escapes in the air between then. "Ugh." Jisung takes a sniff and instantly retreats. "The pheromones you ordered?"

"Yup," Jaemin smiles, securely screwing the lid again. "It smells almost natural, right?"

"Yeah," Jisung looks the tiniest bit weirded out, but his lips turn upwards. He knows how much they wanted -needed- this more than anyone. "My instinct didn't react well to it, like there was an unfamiliar alpha in the room, so I can assume it'll do the job."

"I'm so happy," Jaemin leaves the bottle on the table and joins Jisung on the couch. "So, so happy."

"I'm happy for you too," Jisung leaves his laptop aside. "I'm going to Chenle's for the weekend since I suppose he won't be here. We haven't seen each other in a while."

"Sure," Jaemin feels restless with excitement, taking a look at the calendar that’s stuck on their fridge with magnets. There's a little mark for Sunday, the day when Jeno's heat is expected to come. "We'll have Chenle on hold, but I don't think we'll need him."

"First time you're spending a heat all by yourselves, huh?" Jisung is full out smiling now, bright and radiant. "I'll leave a pillow and a quilt with my scent back in case you need them."

"Thank you, Jisungie," Jaemin messes his hair, happy with how Jisung leans into his touch. He isn't cuddly with many people but like every alpha he has his favourites, who in this case are his two omega flatmates and friends. He might be younger than them but he's been a great friend and a great alpha when in need too, his pheromones the only ones effectively instantly calming Jaemin down when he's in a pinch apart from Donghyuck's.

Between Jisung leaving to meet some friends and Jeno coming back there's still an hour or so left, Jaemin putting music on and pacing back and forth around the apartment with trying to contain his excitement. They've been waiting for this for so long and all online and friend reviews promise great results. He is so, so sure it’ll work, bridge the only part of their relationship they couldn’t take care of solely on their own. 

Growing up Jaemin thought he was an odd one, a deviancy, someone rare in the worst way possible. Then he met Renjun who likes alphas and betas and omegas and everything in between or out of it. And then he met Jeno, Jeno who was exactly like him; an omega that liked omegas. Jeno who liked him back. He surrounded himself with good friends and finally felt safe, an odd one, but not the rarest there is.

It was only a couple months prior to their delivery, when they were searching sexual toys and aids online, that he realised there were so many individuals and couples like them out there all around the world. Along with their friends’ support and how easy they accepted his and Jeno's relationship Jaemin's anxiety over not fitting into society's stereotypes and roles has finally started to subside day by day. Maybe it wouldn’t be possible for their relationship to work seamlessly a few years ago without the relevant technology, but now, with the contents of the parcel he’s left at his desk they don’t lack anything a traditional couple would physically have.

"Hey baby," Jeno unlocks the door to find Jaemin on a kitchen chair, staring at their fridge calendar. "Everything alright?"

"Jen!" Jaemin jumps down to hang off Jeno's frame and nose on his neck, on the wonderful mark he has left there, right above Jeno's pulse where he's the most sensitive. "Our stuff came!"

"Our stuff?" Jeno tilts his head. He smells like sweat, probably coming home straight after practise, but underneath that there is the familiar ever-present faint smell of lavender. "Oh, you mean-"

"Our knot!" Jaemin declares and Jeno grins from ear to ear, connecting the dots. He'll be the first one to try it after all. "Have you eaten? Have a shower so we can open it up together."

And Jeno was always pretty fast to shower unless Jaemin decided to join, but on that day he probably sets a record time for it, not even answering about having eaten or not. Jaemin, equally excited, doesn't worry too much about it.

"Okay," Jeno rubs his hands staring at the opened box on Jaemin's desk. "What did you take out?"

"The pheromones!" Jaemin picks the bottle that he left back after presenting it to Jisung. "Take a sniff."

Jeno's reaction to it is the exact opposite of Jisung's and way stronger than Jaemin's since his heat is close. He follows the bottle with his nose even when Jaemin tries to cap it.

"It smells so good," Jeno whines, making grabby hands for the bottle. That's the thing: an alpha's pheromones rarely express only a singular emotion; they are usually pretty complex. Even when an alpha is turned on their scent might be laced with worry or something else which omegas can pick up with ease. This smell though, the one they carefully picked through the manufacturer's online quizzes that smells like burning wood with an undertone of something so _alpha_ , is nothing but pure pheromones tailored to their needs. The exact pheromones alphas produce when an omega they care about goes in heat.

They slowly unpack the rest of their order. They had purchased the simplest set for omega couples, the only one their ratty university student pockets could afford from a company with a great reputation and every item specifically made for the customers.

"Looks good," Jaemin takes a look at the fake-cum-lube. It has a thicker consistency than the one they keep in their drawer for the rare occasions they are in a rush or don't want to mess everything up with ungodly amounts of slick.

"Yup," Jeno nods, putting the lube down next to the pheromones. There's only on box left, the biggest out of the three and they both stare at it before Jeno finally takes it into his hands. "Let's see," he says, opening it up by ripping most of the packaging.

"Oh that-" Jaemin looks at the dildo in Jeno's hand. The dildo that is so much bigger than Jeno's hand. It should be noted that Jeno has really big hands. "That's nice."

"Bigger than Hyuck?" Jeno asks chuckling, trailing his finger on the protruding veins, down the shaft and around the knot. It would be almost intimidatingly realistic if it wasn't a deep blue after Jeno's wishes. He had mentioned he didn't want it to be too life-like, wanted to focus only on Jaemin when they were together on the bed.

"Slightly, yes," Jaemin confirms to humour him. "Bigger than Chenle?"

"Oh, definitely," Jeno places the dildo on Jaemin's waiting hands. Hidden at the base there is a little pump that they can fill with lube and pheromones, they've read everything about it already. "But I'm sure I can take it."

"That's the spirit, champ," Jaemin leans by his mate’s side. "Can't wait to fuck you with this and nobody else in the house."

"God, yes," Jeno mutters. They've always been by each other's sides when in heat, but there was always someone else too; Chenle for Jeno and Donghyuck for Jaemin. Chenle was a good classmate and friend, always very careful with Jeno while Donghyuck was Jaemin's trusted ex, now in another relationship himself, but fucking Jaemin through his heats when Jaemin would never trust another alpha. Still, even when they moaned each other's names instead of the alphas' at the highs of their heats having to rely on a third party always hurt deep down.

"We are independent omegas who need no alphas," Jeno says patting the dildo's head, as if he knows how much of a good work it'll be doing the following week.

"Damn right," Jaemin agrees, taking the bottles to place next to their bed and the dildo to the bathroom, to boil and clean before the first use. He has less than two days to prepare for spending a heat taking care of his mate all by himself. Everything needs to be perfect.

Their Saturday is busy, to say the least. Jeno wakes up too early despite Jaemin's protests and attempts to keep his big fluffy mass of a breathing heat pack in bed with him, trying to squeeze as much exercise as he can before his heat hits. Jaemin gets out of bed later, trying to do as much of his university work as possible (which isn't much, but the effort counts).

Chenle is the first one to call around noon. He reminds Jaemin that he will be available whenever they need him and to stay hydrated. He even asks if they want him to drop by with a hoodie or a shirt, which Jaemin declines, partly because they'll have Jisung’s things anyway and partly because despite the mating mark Jeno's body is somewhat naturally acquainted with Chenle and they want to eliminate all possible distractions.

Renjun is the second, discussing his interest and slight concern in the form of gossip. He and Doyoung were the first ones to try one of the O/O sets and recommend it to Jaemin and Jeno and yet Renjun still asks too many questions about it, Jaemin eager to spare him all the details.

Donghyuck is the last one to call at early evening and Jaemin finds it absolutely hilarious how everyone in their friends’ circle knows what’s up, despite neither him nor Jeno saying anything. It probably all started with Jisung telling Chenle for the domino effect to start.

"Can't believe I won't get to knot you again," Donghyuck says, loud enough for Jeno to hear him through the speaker and laugh. "You'll be missed."

"You're disgusting," Jaemin laughs into the mic. "Our silicon knot is bigger than yours, so you won't be missed." Nothing better than riling Donghyuck through the phone, it keeps their friendship alive.

"Markie likes it as it is," Donghyuck says and then there's a bit of rustling at the background. "Don't you babe?"

"Yeah," Mark says unenthusiastically from the other end of the line, probably not even knowing to what he's agreeing to.

"See," Donghyuck says giddily. "My boyfie is satisfied and that's what matters."

"Your boyfie is a big dumb alpha like you and totally whipped on top of it so I don't trust his judgment Hyuckie, glad you're having nice sexy times though."

And then Donghyuck goes all soft on him like Chenle and Renjun. Says he knows Chenle has priority when it comes to Jeno's heats, but he'll be there too for everything they might need. Jaemin thinks that everyone's way more stressed than they need to be. Sure, the logistics will be a little harder without an alpha or another person around, especially because Jeno is a heap of exhaustion after his heats and Jaemin will be tired too and he'll need to take care of them both. They could easily call someone towards the end of Jeno's heat, maybe Jisung to ask him to cook something easy or bring them some take out, but Jaemin has his pride at stake.

He doesn't want his relationship to fall anything short of one involving an alpha and an omega. His family, Jeno's family, a big chunk of society, they are all decent enough to not be outwardly hostile, but Jaemin knows they want him and Jeno and every other relationship of that nature out there to fail just to stick the label of unnatural on it as if it's gonna get them a prize. That's why Jaemin wants to do this all by himself. An alpha could take care of his omega and he can take care of his omega too, maybe even better because he knows exactly what Jeno needs at every moment, the both of them perfectly attuned to each other.

The first hints of Jeno’s heat approaching show up on Sunday morning like clockwork. He wakes up overheating and sweaty and clings on Jaemin's frame, his usual hunch for morning exercise gone.

"Does it hurt?" Jaemin pushes damp hair out of Jeno's face to press a kiss on his forehead.

"Not yet," Jeno rubs the top of his head in the crook of Jaemin's neck. "But I think I should take a painkiller soon."

Jaemin, closer to the edge of the bed, rummages their bedside drawer for Jeno's painkillers, the ones he takes exclusively at the start of his heats to ease the cramps coming later and is thankful they remembered to keep water nearby because getting out of bed while Jeno is clinging on him would be too difficult.

"Here," Jaemin holds the pill and the bottle of water out, Jeno getting into a sitting position to take them. "You smell nice," Jaemin smiles. The first of Jeno's heat pheromones are more comforting than anything to him because they mean his mate is close to him and about to safely go into heat. At those times Jaemin - even through it should be an alpha kind of instinct - always gets slightly more protective and caring despite them are both traits he possesses naturally. At those first few hours Jeno's scent regains a honey-like undertone that is only present during the three days Jeno's in heat. Similar to him, Jaemin's usual lily scent gains a sugary tone that both Jeno and Donghyuck have said they're able to taste on his slick.

They spend the morning holed up in their room, unmoving from the bed while Jisung is pattering around the house. Jaemin is sure he can smell them clearly even behind closed doors. After two years of living together Jisung has become accustomed to the point that he always leaves right when their scents shift when the peak of their heats starts, so Jaemin doesn't bother giving him a heads-up. After taking his painkiller Jeno gets a bit more sleep, seeping in and out of consciousness as his temperature keeps going up.

He and Jeno are quite different in the way their heats work, as every individual is. Jaemin's peak happens right on the first day, the need to get a knot in him unbearable the first few hours so he usually exhausts himself early on and only needs to be knotted a couple more times the next days, mostly spending them napping, previously between Donghyuck and Jeno, getting irritated if either of them left the bed.

Jeno's heat builds up the whole first day when he's mostly quiet and feverish and seeks touch more than anything. The peak hits him between the first day's evening and the second one's noon, sometimes in the middle of the night. He gets loud and needy and insatiable for long hours, usually asking for something to occupy his hands and mouth, which used to be Jaemin while he was getting fucked on all fours. They've talked about ways to handle this incoming heat but more than anything Jaemin trusts their instincts to make the decisions when the time comes.

"Hyungs?" There's a light knock on the door and Jisung peeks inside. "I've left you soup on the stove and the pillow and quilt I've been using are on the couch, I'm leaving now."

"You're an angel, Jisungie," Jaemin sends him a flying kiss, Jeno not quite in a condition to get up or to talking, although he gives Jisung one of his radiant eye-smiles. "Say hi to Chenle from us."

"Sure," Jisung gives them a thumbs up, and then he's gone. He always had a relatively strong and gentle scent but not much of it sneaks into their bedroom, either because Jeno's covers everything else or because Jisung has been supressing his own.

"Hungry?" He asks because he definitely is. He can barely hold water down when in heat, but Jeno eats his own body weight when he's not sleeping or getting fucked.

"Yeah," Jeno pouts, as if he'd need to convince Jaemin to feed him. "Do we still have breadsticks?"

"Think so, I'll take a look," Jaemin peels himself off Jeno and their bedsheets, resisting the urge to dive back in.

Their kitchen is usually void of much since all three of them either eat at the university cafeteria or order take out, but it's always equipped with their heat and rut staples. Jaemin finds the precious breadsticks, pours two bowls of soup and digs out some cheese and ham from the fridge that Jeno is sure to appreciate, taking everything back to bed on a tray, Jeno's eyes lighting up when he sees the food arriving.

He’ll have to help Jeno eat the next days, but for now Jaemin can still eat his own bowl without distractions, Jeno’s limb coordination still good enough. He thinks about how he’ll help Jeno eat and shower and even just hold himself up so they can have a little conversation. Spending the heat with someone is always a very intimate experience, but spending it with a mate, a lifelong mate - Jaemin is now sure he can call Jeno this - can be very personal and important. Spending a heat with someone means completely baring yourself and trusting them at your most vulnerable state. Jaemin cannot count the times he had needed Jeno and Donghyuck to clean him up or hold him while he was oversensitive and crying. The embarrassment of the first heats spent with someone fades after a while and every little moment like this does nothing but to strengthen their relationship. So being able to be the sole carer for Jeno feels like the highest form of privilege. He has been dreaming about this, about Jeno tired and sated underneath him, knotted and happy with Jaemin's teeth on his neck.

Jeno already has a few mating marks on him, one on his neck, another underneath his collarbone, a couple on the inside of his thighs that look so, so pretty when Jaemin is eating him out. He is dedicated to leaving even more this time, to have the sweet satisfaction of sinking his teeth into Jeno's skin when Jeno is hazy and begging to be marked, to claim him as his own, and only his own.

Jaemin takes a nap until early evening and plays a bit on Jisung's switch while Jeno is either actively cuddling him or sleeping, tossing and turning around. They've done the mistake of not getting enough rest before night comes before and have learnt form it and as they have had-expected, Jeno's heat hits full force a little after midnight.

Jaemin is the first one to notice, keeping an eye out for every little shift and change of Jeno's scent through the evening so he unmistakably notices when the air starts getting thick and almost suffocating with pheromones.

"Baby," he shakes Jeno gently. "How are you feeling?"

Jeno looks up at him, still half-asleep and drowsy. "I dunno," he mutters and lifts a hand to place on his own chest, damp with sweat.

"It's starting, baby," Jaemin takes a look under their duvet to find out that as expected Jeno's boxers are completely damp with slick, oozing out on the sheets. "Let's make you a bit more comfortable, right?"

"Mhm," Jeno gives him a little nod and Jaemin leans in to place the softest of kisses on his lips. He wishes he could litter his whole face with pecks, but it's not what Jeno needs and they'll have all the time in the world to make up for it afterwards.

Jaemin knows all the things Jeno enjoys while in heat. He won't want to get fucked until later on, so Jaemin opts for alleviating some of the pooling heat in other ways.

He throws the covers at the far end of the bed, most of them landing on the floor, and crawls between Jeno's legs, spreading them open slowly to find his favorited mess in between. He kneels and takes his time, positioning himself close enough to be able to touch as much of Jeno as possible but with enough spare space to have freedom of movement at the same time.

Jeno's cock is flushed red, leaking on his stomach, and Jaemin bows down as if he’s praying to lap on the little puddle with his tongue. He always loved how Jeno tastes, warm and light and sweet, the taste and smell only heightened during his heat. Now that Jaemin has him all to himself he braces his body weight up on his palms by Jeno's sides and keeps licking until Jeno's tummy is completely clean, save for the traces of Jaemin's tongue.

"Does it feel good, angel?" Jaemin presses his nose on Jeno's navel, kissing down his faint happy trail, knowing Jeno's stomach is sensitive, watching how Jeno's cock pulses with Jaemin's every move.

"Don't touch me yet," Jeno croaks out, hips buckling and he's so damn pretty that Jaemin feels something half-familiar bubbling into his chest. He wants to wreck him. Their previous times when an alpha was present Jaemin's pheromones gave way to him as he took a caring role from the sidelines instead. But he's in control now, he will fuck Jeno and he wants to do it well, he wants Jeno to be crying in bliss when they are done.

"Let me mark you," Jaemin reaches for Jeno's legs, securely holding them down. "You're all mine baby, all mine."

"Please," Jeno moans, deep and melodious, struggling to keep still, whole body gravitating towards Jaemin, his omega.

Jaemin loves Jeno's hipbones, the muscle around them, how soft the skin is, how it feels under his palms when Jeno shifts. He leaves the first bitemark there, sinks his teeth and listens to Jeno's heaving breaths as he licks above the deep mark and sits back to look at his work. Sex after mating felt so much better for them, although the individual marks that followed do nothing more than spice up the experience momentarily anymore.

The second and third marks are left on Jeno's thighs, teeth against hard muscle, one on the inside and the other on the outside. It's rare for anyone to see those ones, especially at winter, but Jeno once told him that they burn in the best way when he is out biking and Jaemin selfishly wants his mate to think of him even when out pedalling by himself.

By the time Jaemin has admired Jeno's new marks enough there's so much slick between them that he knows it's time to get himself wet. It's one of his favorited parts, eating Jeno out, because taste aside Jeno’s oversensitive and reactive to Jaemin's tongue in ways nobody has ever been before.

Jaemin makes himself comfortable on his knees and elbows knowing he'll be staying like this for a while. He takes one of their pillows and helps Jeno shift to place it under his hips and gives the first experimental lick. Jeno whines, hips buckling and arms stretching to catch strands of Jaemin's hair, trying to pull him closer.

Finally Jaemin feels him relax, Jeno deflating with the first few proper mouthfuls of slick. Jaemin interchanges between lapping his tongue and sucking on the soft skin of Jeno's ass, leaving little love bites and hickeys that will fade soon. Jeno whines and moans and his precum is dripping from his tummy down to the sheets. Jaemin stares at him for a moment, slick running down his chin and wonders if he could make him come just like that.

"Jen baby," he lifts his head to find Jeno watching him through hooded eyes, lips bitten red. "Want to come?"

"Fuck," Jeno heaves, legs slightly shaking for a moment. "Yes."

It doesn't take much and Jaemin knows the first orgasm of the heat doesn't alleviate any of it, but it does make the next ones feel better. He doesn’t touch Jeno's cock yet, his own fully hard and dripping into his own underwear.

Jeno comes with three of Jaemin's fingers knuckles deep inside him and Jaemin's lips on his skin. He is almost mute, body trembling with his orgasm until he quiets and Jaemin takes the little time they have to fetch the pack of wet wipes and clean whatever fluid is drying on them, knowing that the real deal hasn't started yet.

He gets about ten minutes of cleaning them up and catching his breath before Jeno is calling him back on the bed, arms spread and face flushed and cock completely hard and leaking again.

"Jaeminnie," he pouts, and he looks almost like he's about to start sobbing. "It hurts."

"I'll take care of it, baby," Jaemin stands at the side of the bed and pets Jeno's hair, effectively calming him down momentarily.

"Need you," Jeno whines, mustering up all of his energy to drag Jaemin back on the bed and beside him by the hem of his shirt. "Need you inside me."

"Okay," Jaemin cups his cheeks for a kiss. "Will you give me two minutes love? I'll prepare the knot for later."

Jeno nods and Jaemin smiles at him, sadly having to let go of his hand to cater to the items left on the nightstand. Jeno has placed a small plastic cup there and Jaemin pours some of the lube. When he uncaps the pheromones Jeno's eyes fly on the bottle and he moans, loud and clear, hands trailing down his body to stroke his cock in a vain attempt to relieve himself.

"Want you to fuck me first," Jeno says, hips buckling into his palm, wet with slick he has spread from between his cheeks. "You, not the knot, you smell so fucking good."

Jaemin gives him a smile as he mixes the lube with the pheromones and sucks the liquid in the little pump, securing it back into the knot dildo that he leaves back on the bedside table.

"All yours," he gets back on the bed, "Tell me what you want, Jeno."

Jeno looks up at him. He's in a half-sitting position and Jaemin is kneeling in front of him, still clothed, which Jeno obviously doesn't like.

"Off," he pulls on Jaemin's shirt and the waistband of his sweats. "Everything off and roll me on my stomach."

"Love you," Jaemin pecks Jeno's lips. Just a little reminder. He was never very fond of taking Jeno like that, not looking at his pretty face, but he knows it does wonders in Jeno's heats and Jaemin's priority is making Jeno and only Jeno feel good.

He sheds his clothes off fast throwing them on the floor and manhandles Jeno as instructed. Jeno likes it like that, both in and out of his heat. He loves bracing himself on the headboard on all fours when he's not in heat and can support himself and loves getting fucked with his cock flat on the mattress and rubbing on the sheets too, judging from how vocal he is about it.

Jaemin has soaked through his own underwear and down his thighs so he lubes up his cock with a mix of his own and Jeno's slicks, relishing in their shared scent for a moment, sweet and so thick he can almost taste it in the stale air of their bedroom.

Jeno is beautiful splayed on the dark bedsheets but Jaemin doesn't have the time to waste staring at the broad back and the carved muscles. He slips in between Jeno's cheeks with a swift, practiced motion, barely meeting any resistance, and only when he bottoms out he leans down to press a kiss between Jeno's protruding shoulder blades. He doesn't bother going slow picking up a fast rhythm from the very start, Jeno pushing his ass up warm and slippery around him, moaning and crying out with every single thrust.

Jaemin runs a hand up and down Jeno’s back, squeezes the flesh of his love handles, leans down to tell him how well he's doing and peck the tips of his ears. It takes a while between trying to not tumble over and keep his pace up, but then Jaemin notices it; Jeno's face pressed on the bed, mouth open and biting on the pillow. He knows what Jeno wants and it takes a bit of a stretch to make all of his limbs coordinate, already feeling how sore he'll be the next day, but he manages to lift a hand up to caress Jeno's cheek and get his attention.

"Jeno," he says, and it sounds gravelly even to his own ears. "Come on, baby, it'll feel good."

"It already feels good," Jeno breaths out, but then Jaemin's finger taps on his chin and that's when Jeno seems to actually notice Jaemin's offer with a tiny " _oh_!" sound. He wraps his lips around two digits and Jaemin has to slow down, feeling the vibrations from Jeno's little pleased hums straight on his cock. Jeno licks and sucks and softly bites down and Jaemin lets him do his thing, focusing on fucking him well.

That's all they do for a while, as if time loops with Jaemin thrusting deep and Jeno squirming underneath him and moaning around his fingers. The repetitiveness is almost tranquil and Jaemin realises they've never done it like this before; were never alone in a room so full of heavy pheromones by themselves. Despite Chenle and Donghyuck being heavily on the caring and gentle side alphas always tend to loud and bossy in their own ways and heats were never any sort of quiet.

"Is it better?" Jaemin asks and Jeno spits his fingers out, craning his neck to try taking a look at his mate. "You should tell me when you feel ready to get knotted."

"Feels good," Jeno mutters, eyes rolling back when Jaemin hits his spot for a moment before he half-composes himself again. "No knot, I want to taste you."

It's not an unusual request, Jaemin obliging right away. It's easy, picking his own slick that's running down his legs and letting Jeno lick it off from his palm, lapping so lewdly Jaemin could come just from the sight of it.

It's rare for an omega to not only accept, but even like another omega's pheromones while in heat. There are different explanations they've read about: maybe it happens because they've mated, maybe because they're by each other's sides at every heat or maybe just because that's how they're build. Jeno coming in him doesn't do much during Jaemin's heats, not to alleviate the temperature and pain, but Jaemin feels euphoric, always asking, begging, Jeno to come inside him before having a proper knot. Jeno isn't much different, although he prefers having things into his mouth, tasting the pheromones from Jaemin's hands or sucking him off.

It starts building up from there: Jeno is sweating buckets on the sheets and he's burning underneath Jaemin. He tries to talk but he sounds almost delirious, crying out every time Jaemin tries to slip out of him. Jaemin knows Jeno needs to be knotted soon, knows he must be in pain from the way wetness drips out of him, but he doesn't want to push him. So he keeps thrusting and caressing Jeno's hair and talking to him until he is ready.

"Jaemin," Jeno gasps and Jaemin stills. It's the first comprehensible word in a long while. "Fuck-" Jeno is panting and Jaemin doesn't dare move an inch but tries looking at Jeno’s face.

"Tell me," Jaemin drapes his body above Jeno's, the temperature uncomfortable and Jeno's full body shivers obvious.

"Can't-," Jeno whispers in a dry sob. "Can't take it anymore."

"Okay," Jaemin nods, reaching for the bedside. "I got you baby."

"Want to be looking at you," Jeno says, words small and breathy and ending in a deep moan as Jaemin shifts on the bed. He's sore, muscles aching and back tense from being hunched for long, but he wills himself to ignore it.

He rearranges Jeno on his back like a doll. He's a little heavier than Jaemin and it's difficult when he's a dead weight, but he flops on his back with a deep, pleased sigh and his eyelids fluttering. He's flaring red, cock jumping against his stomach and Jaemin can imagine how uncomfortable it is.

"Let's get some alpha in you," Jaemin chuckles, Jeno grunting, life seeping into his features suddenly.

"No," Jeno shakes his head, voice rough and so much louder than it was a few moments ago. "It's you, no alpha," he rumbles and Jaemin feels his chest swelling with a new kind of pride. "Jaemin, give me the bottle, give me the damn pheromones."

Jaemin complies, not quite sure what Jeno wants, but he knows better than to refuse him something. Jeno has never been aggressive in any way, but he is strong and can lose sense of his strength when he's disoriented.

He watches Jeno uncap the bottle with shaky fingers throwing a brief look at the dildo that’s filled and waiting. "I want to try something," he says. "Something I just thought."

"What is it?" Jaemin waits, Jeno pouring liquid pheromones into his hand.

"Come closer," Jeno asks and Jaemin realises what he wants. Jeno reaches for him, spreading the pheromones all over his length, squirting more liquid on his hand and rubbing it around Jaemin's head. "Please," Jeno says. "I know people say it doesn't work well without a knot, but I want it like this, please, lets try."

Jaemin almost shakes, so excited and turned on and whatever else is pooling in the pit of his stomach and Jeno, who is probably smelling the excited spike in his scent, gives him a smile.

"Lets try it," Jaemin finally agrees, pushing Jeno's thighs apart and positioning himself. The alpha pheromones spread on his cock have their distinct smell, but their own omega ones are somehow more prominent. He knows omegas need both the physical and chemical aspects of a knot, so using only the pheromones isn't advised, but even in the worse case he hopes he'll still make Jeno feel good. He will be able to knot him afterwards if needed, anyway.

Jaemin pushes in slowly despite the lack of any resistance and minimal friction. He doesn't feel any different, so tuned to his omega that the alpha scent doesn’t do much to him even if the pheromones are on his skin but Jeno goes feral beneath him, moaning so loudly Jaemin feels it where their bodies intertwine. He bottoms out and drags himself to slam back in, hands splayed on Jeno's thighs and body upright, but Jeno pulls him down frantically until they are chest to chest.

"Fuck," Jeno locks his legs on Jaemin's back. "Fuck Jaemin, it's so good." He can't move much in this position, and yet he keeps moving up against Jaemin, hands in Jaemin's hair, his lips desperate in a way Jaemin hasn't seen in or out of a heat before.

"I'm so close baby," Jaemin pants against the side of Jeno's neck and everything feels unreal, feels fluid; the humid air around them, the sweat dripping down Jeno's neck, the slick, the pheromones, it's like Jaemin is underwater, holding his breath in the most hedonic way.

"Come," Jeno bites down on his jawline so hard Jaemin is sure he's drawing blood. "I'm yours," Jeno licks, he licks over the bitemark and down Jaemin's neck pushing him towards the edge. "Want you to breed me, Jaemin."

In the midst of the heat haze it's a moment of absolute clarity that Jaemin lives through in slow motion. His body is moving, he can feel how Jeno's body is tense like a slingshot, can feel damp palms on his nape and teeth on his neck but it still feels like he's watching from outside his body as his abdomen tightens with the all familiar feeling and he lets go.

He doesn't know how long it lasts. It could be seconds, it could be minutes, or it could be hours, but he comes and Jeno is restless underneath him, sputtering between their bodies, begging for something Jaemin can't concentrate enough to hear, but he knows he's attuned enough to give Jeno what he needs by instinct.

Jeno comes and comes and at some point he's quietly sobbing happy tears Jaemin kisses away. He stays deep inside Jeno, slowly getting soft but still feeling so good, breathing heavily against his mate's skin that's gradually cooling down.

"Jaemin," Jeno smiles, reaching to cup the back of his head, guiding Jaemin's lips down for a slow lazy kiss. "You're incredible."

Jaemin deflates, smiling into the kiss before he rolls on the empty side of the bed to catch his breath. It feels good, it smells good too, Jeno’s excited and sated hormones filling the air and he knows his own are mirroring the scent. It’s still only the start though, so he allows himself a nap, knowing they’ll both need as much rest as they can.

The following four days make for a learning experience. Without an alpha Jeno's heat lasts longer than usual and it wears down the both of them, but Jaemin, after knowing the bliss of having Jeno for himself in their most intimate moment wouldn't change it back again for anything in the world.

As expected, fucking Jeno just with the pheromones, although it works briefly doesn't do much in the grand scheme of things, not much more than giving them the momentarily satisfaction of satiation which can't really be overlooked. It's a big win for them even if Jeno is hard and flushed again in less than half an hour and Jaemin actually has to use the knot the next few times.

They spend a total of five days holed inside, Jaemin stepping out only to fetch them food and water or drag Jeno to the shower. He changes the sheets six times, more than they had to ever do it before and receives a few concerned and hopeful calls from their friends in the between. The third day is mostly spent with Jeno sleeping and waking up only to eat and press closer to Jaemin's body, so Jaemin actually manages to get some of his pending university work done.

He has some time to reflect on the first day. It was exhausting and the feeling of not being enough was still looming over him, over them, it has been looming over their relationship from the very start. Omega relationships were known to get messy and dysfunctional over time. Alphas like Donghyuck and Mark had it a little better because if there's a hole and a knot there's a way.

Him and Jeno were dedicated to make it work. Mostly because they knew they were each other's mates, partners, soulmates, they were each other's everything. But also there was that little part of this dedication deriving out of pettiness. Society was against them, from pitying looks to family members and even random strangers overstepping, telling them it'd be better if they broke it off the soonest possible because they were set on breaking each other's hearts.

At some point on the fourth day Jaemin takes a look at Jeno beside him, curled into himself in a tight warm ball and presses his hand on his forehead to check his temperature. He's significantly cooler so his heat should be breaking out soon. Jaemin messes his hair, washed and dried, fluffing up. Jeno doesn't stir, deep in his sleep and Jaemin smiles to himself.

Two years aren't too long, but they are enough. Enough to get to know each other, enough to try things, fail and try again. Enough to learn to take baby steps and have realistic expectations. Two years have been enough for so many highs and lows, enough to see Jeno cry and enough to see him laugh until he tears up. Jaemin knows that nothing is set in stone, but also that they will never know how far they can get by each other’s side unless they try. So that’s what they do; they keep trying. They had to learn how to behave around each other in public to be safe and how to be with alphas nearby. They also had to learn how to escape alphas' and betas' flirting and to be confident enough to point at their mate knowing that it could cause unnecessary comments or snicker. But they had eventually reached a point of balance, surrounded by friends either in shoes similar to their own or understanding and gentle with them.

"Jaem?" Jeno shifts, inhales, exhales loudly, and reaches for Jaemin's hand with his eyes still shut.

"I'm here, baby," Jaemin takes his hand into his own. "You feel better, right?"

"Much better," Jeno agrees, face plastered on his pillow. "No more fucking for the foreseeable future," he chuckles.

"Oh thank god," Jaemin laughs placing a hand on his mate's back to rub small circles. "My dick is about to fall off."

"I'd really like you to keep it," Jeno groans and slowly, like a cat under the sun, stretches until he's taking most of the bed with his long legs.

"Do you want take out?" Jaemin scrolls through his phone. What he calls "Phase II" is starting and it consists of Jeno being clingy, cuddly, and also a void of pure hunger.

"Oh yes," Jeno does a little full body shake, as if to wake himself up properly. "I feel good enough, if you want to talk about-" he does some vague hand motion towards the bedside table with his hand. "It."

"I think we'll get better with time," Jaemin selects Jeno's favourite fried chicken place. "I'm sure it'll take some trial and error."

"What you did yesterday...no," Jeno squints, brows furrowed. "Two days before, the first day."

"Using only the pheromones on me?" Jaemin shows his phone screen to Jeno to get a nod before ordering. "It wasn't enough."

"Yeah, in a way," Jeno gets into a seating position, head flopping onto Jaemin's shoulder. "I've never felt that good before through. With nobody else."

"We can try it out of your heat too," Jaemin contemplates the chance. "See how it works under normal conditions."

"I couldn't smell it at all, you know," Jeno places a kiss on his naked shoulder. "I know I wasn't in the best condition, but I could only smell you after a while, your scent was as strong and good as an alpha's. And actually, it was even better because you don't stink like them."

"Do you think it's because we’ve mated?" Jaemin has read about it, strong mating bonds that can alter the usual sub-gender pheromone perception to work to a couple's favour. They are rare through and often seen as a deviancy rather than something that can normally happen in same sub-gender couples.

"I think," Jeno taps his finger on Jaemin's thigh. "That things might not be as complex as we think they are."

"What do you mean?" Jaemin turns his head and is met with the prettiest tired smile he's seen his whole life.

"I mean," Jeno rubs Jaemin's palm with his thumb. "That there's working for it and there's love and then there's some luck. They all seem to be on our side, so let's not question it that much."

And Jaemin, leaning in to press a kiss on his omega’s cheek, can agree with that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> You can find me [here](https://twitter.com/kuns_dimples)!


End file.
